Under 5 U.S.C. § 5514, agencies such as the ITC may offset employee salaries for certain delinquent debts owed to the United States. Employees are entitled to request a hearing before an impartial hearing official. When the ITC is the creditor agency, the hearing official could be an ALJ or someone else not under the control of the ITC Chairman. 19 C.F.R. § 201.201(j). Sometimes, if the ITC is not the creditor agency, ITC ALJs or other hearing officials may hear disputes involving other agencies, whether the alleged debtor works for the ITC or not. 19 C.F.R. § 201.204(l). The hearing focuses on the existence/amount of the alleged debt or a proposed repayment schedule.
There is essentially one step in this Type B scheme, because the hearing official's decision is "final." 19 C.F.R. § 201.204(c)(5). However, there are two exceptions: (1) if the salary adjustment is $50 or less, or a clerical error, the process does not kick in, but the employee still receives notice; and (2) for "materially changed circumstances," an employee can request "special review" of an offset amount or repayment schedule by the ITC Director of Finance. This special review is more of a reconsideration than an "appeal," but it still adds a step in the process in narrow circumstances.